The Best Teacher Retirement Gifts To Celebrate an Incredible Career
The best teacher retirement gifts to celebrate an incredible career
Their final grades are in, the last class is over, and it's time to celebrate their years of service and dedication. Teacher retirement is a special occasion that deserves to be honored with gifts as unique as the teacher himself. These teacher retirement gifts fit a variety of budgets and will remind your favorite educator that the best is yet to come!
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1. Plant a tree
If your campus has enough space, consider creating a retired teachers' grove, where you will plant a tree for each teacher whose job is done. No place in school? TreeGivers will plant a tree in their honor on public land in the state of your choice.
Buy it: TreeGivers
2. Bucket list inspiration
Every retiree looks forward to the days when they can do as much or as little as their heart desires. Help them make fun plans for the future with these popular books, ideal for making bucket lists.
- 1,000 places to see before you die
- 1000 Recordings You Should Hear Before You Die
- 1000 foods you should eat before you die
3. Guide
If you already know you're planning to hit the road, travel guides make great retirement gifts for teachers! Here are some of our favourites.
- The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA
- 50 states, 5000 ideas
- Moon USA National Parks
4. Pin Travel Map
A personalized map allows retired teachers to track their travels around the globe. These maps are pinboard mounted and come with pushpins to mark your travels.
Buy it: Push Pin Travel Maps
5. Scratch-off bucket list poster
Scratch off posters are such cool retirement gifts for teachers! As they complete each item, they scratch it off, revealing a colorful image underneath. They are available for many bucket list topics; Here are some cool ones that teachers really appreciate.
- Top 100 Movies Scratch Posters
- Major League Ballparks scratch off poster
- Top 100 Books Scratch Poster
6. School Portrait Art
If your honor teacher has spent most or all of their career at a single school, consider having a special portrait of the building made. Minted photographs each building and transforms it into something truly unique.
Buy it: Custom House Portrait/Minted
7. Tribute video montage
No teacher retirement party would be complete without a video montage of their years of service! You can make your own or use a service like Tribute. Their easy-to-use tools allow you to put the assembly together yourself, or pay a little more and have a pro put together something spectacular.
Buy it: Tribute Video Montage
8. Personalized Photo Book
Photo books are classic retirement gifts for teachers. Search the archives for photos, documents and more worth keeping. Then compile them into a quality book they can keep forever. We like the guest book option, which leaves room for handwritten messages on each page (just like a school yearbook!).
Buy it: Artifact Riot Photo Guest Book
9. Lovepop retirement card
Need a unique card that makes a great keepsake? That's it! A pull-out insert offers space for a longer message or a personal tribute.
Buy it: Lovepop Goodbye & Good Luck Card
Discount: Get five tickets for $50 with code: 5FOR50
10. Audible Membership
Give a light-loving teacher plenty of audiobooks to enjoy during their well-deserved free time. Audible Gift Memberships are available from one month to one year, so there are options for all price points.
Buy it: Audible Gift Membership
11. Kindle Paperwhite or Fire
Amazon's e-readers and tablets offer excellent value for money. If your outgoing teacher already has one, consider a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Buy: Kindle Paperwhite and Fire HD 8 tablets
12. Bird Watching Equipment
Retirement is the time to explore new hobbies or spend quality time with old ones. Bird-loving teachers will appreciate a field journal and quality binoculars to continue their adventures.
Buy it: Life List and Field Journal by Sibley Birder and Celestron Nature DX 8×42 binoculars
13. Gardening Supplies
Does your outgoing teacher have (or want) a green thumb? Give them a set of quality gardening tools and a logbook to plan for the future and to record their successes and challenges.
Buy it: Gardener's log and AM Leonard 5 tool kit
14. Fishing tackle
For teachers who spend their classrooms dreaming of being on the water, fishing gifts are the way to go! Get them a rod stand to display and store their gear, or a box of hand-tied flies for days on the river.
Buy it: Rush Creek Creations Rod Rack and Ventures Fly Co Hand Tied Flies
15. Gourmet Subscription Boxes
Eat to live or live to eat? With these subscription boxes you don't have to choose as they make great retirement gifts for teachers. CrateJoy has hundreds of boxes to choose from. These highly rated options are some of our top picks.
- Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Box
- Freshly baked cookie box
- Grill Masters Club Box
16. Teacher Retirement Sign
Want something simple that really sums up their accomplishments? Have this sign personalized for your retired teacher, print it out and display it in a beautiful frame.
Buy it: Printable Teacher Retirement Sign/Etsy
Know of other great teacher retirement gifts or want to see what others have done? Check out the WeAreTeachers Facebook group to share ideas and ask for advice.
Plus 27 teacher appreciation ideas to show your co-workers you love them.
